


Currupted Between The Lines

by GalekhXigisi



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Canon Compliant, F/F, F/M, Female Pronouns for Pidge | Katie Holt, Found Family, Gender-Neutral Pronouns for Pidge | Katie Holt, HE'S COVERING UP LIKE PIDGE, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, M/M, Multi, N-7 is canonly Matts sig nif, NOT TRANS FEM, Not Beta Read, Past Child Abuse, Role Reversal, Ships to be added - Freeform, Trans Keith (Voltron), Trans Male Keith (Voltron), ships come later
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-16
Updated: 2018-12-16
Packaged: 2019-09-12 12:45:27
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 16,102
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16873167
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GalekhXigisi/pseuds/GalekhXigisi
Summary: Pidge/Katie has Keith's role (the loner)Lance has Hunk's role (the sunshine)Matt has Shiro's role (the leader)Keith/Robin has Pidge/Katie's role (the brains)Allura has sort of Coran's role (now the general)Coran has Allura's role (the prince)Shiro has Matt's role (the rebel)Hunk has Lance's role (the loverboy)Zarkon has Haggar's role (the warlock)Haggar has Zarkon's role (the empress)More roles to be added, all others undecided. This means lion switch as well. This AU belongs to choopacabra on Voltron Amino. The link is http://aminoapps.com/p/0cx1pc





	1. Chapter 1

Katie glared at the other three in the room, examining the one in blue that had yelled at her. Her eyes flickered to the shortest of them, humming. “I don’t care _who_ you are or _what_ you’re doing, we need to get the Hell out of here before we end up arrested, _got it?”_ She gave no room for disagreement, pulling out the lifeless body of her sibling. In truth, she knew he wasn’t dead, but that didn’t stop the ache in her chest at considering _what if he was._ But there still stood a strong pulse rolling through her brother’s neck.

 

One of the three, the one with the bag on his side, looked visibly tense, more so close to vomiting than anything. Katie quickly gathered it as nerves before slipping Matt out of the room, the others following. They knew that if they didn’t it would end in their arrest, permanent record. The dropout, however, couldn’t care less. She knew the government was full of lies. Her eyes roamed towards the one with a long braid, scanning their face. Her mind was struck with recognition.

 

“Do you mind if we come along,” the skinny one asked, giving no room for question as he threw himself onto the vehicle. Katie glared momentarily, pushing her adopted sibling on immediately.

 

The one with the braid asked, “Is this _thing_ gonna be big enough to hold all of us?”

 

“No,” Katie grumbled. Despite that, she revved the engine, moving on instincts. She knew she stood no chance against the Garrison.

 

“Hey, we did all fit,” the skinny one, _Lance,_ if Katie remembered from her classes correctly, called out, smiling nervously. Braid let out another complaint, though the youngest pushed it aside in favor of focusing on routes to go.

 

“Can’t this go any faster,” Hunk yelled.

 

Katie held no emotion in their voice, “We could toss out some non-essential weight.”

 

Hunk nodded instantly. “Oh, right!” He scanned around the vehicle, mood defleighting. “Oh, that was an insult, I get it.”

 

“Doesn’t matter, Hunk, lean left!” Lance let out a report about which teacher knocked out who. “Lean right!”

 

Robin let out a yelp. “Is that a cliff ahead?”

 

Katie smirked, revving the engine once more. “Yep.”

 

The others protested, Hunk specifically yelping, “What are you doing?! You’re going to kill us all!”

 

“Just shut up and trust me!”

 

\---

 

Katie looked up at her older brother. She was so much shorter than him, only fifteen. The prodigy, as everyone had called her, getting in through an adoption and Matt’s own recommendations. Sure, Matt wasn’t the one that completely got her in. no, that had been one of the other teachers, Takashi Shirogane and his husband Adam. The two had been the ones to truly get her through, pushing forward that _she’s a great student_ and _she’s a prodigy, you wouldn’t turn down a prodigy, would you?!_ Her being accepted into the school was such a rare case, a twelve-year-old getting into the Galaxy Garrison, number seven in the highest rated schools in the world, number one in space opportunity and such as that. She would forever be thankful for the three.

 

Her mind lit up like a Christmas tree, the sudden realization of _why_ she recognized the second shortest in their group. _Keith,_ their mind screeched, only to be silenced by Matt’s hand on their shoulder.

 

“It’s good to be back, Pidge.”

 

“It’s nice to have you back.” She nodded slowly, looking at the ground. “Do you… Do you know where you went?”

 

He shook his head, frowning. “Honestly, no. My head… It’s so fogging. I was on an _alien ship,_ Kat. It’s all a blur.” Matt looked at one of the limited plants around them, suddenly taking interest in a new topic. “How did you know to save me when I crashed?”

 

Katie’s eyes widened, suddenly falling neutral once more as she pulled away. “You… You should come and see this.”

 

\---

 

“What have you been working on?”

 

Pidge shrugged at the slightest. “Honestly, I’m not sure. A lot of it is mumbo-jumbo, relying purely on _feeling._ Besides, after getting booted from the Garrison, I was kind of drawn to this place. It feels like there’s just some _energy_ telling me what to do, where to go, where to _search.”_

 

The others gave her looks like she had gone insane. Thankfully, Matt was kind enough to ask, “For what?”

 

“Well, I didn’t really know at the time.” She pressed her finger to the area marked, “ _Energy Source, maybe?”_ in bold lettering, “Until I found this place. It’s covered in these markings, markings of cats, _lions,_ maybe. Probably. They’re old, as in _ancient_ old. They all tell stories about a Blue Lion, only the tiniest detail different from the last. But they all shared clues to some event, some _arrival_ that was supposed to happen _last night.”_ She looked over at the taller, brows furrowed. “Then, you showed up.”

 

Matt turned to the three behind them. “I should thank you guys for getting me out.” He smiled, turning to the tallest. “Hunk, right?” The other looked at the metal hand for a moment with furrowed brows before shaking it. He turned to shake the other’s hand.

 

“I’m Robin. The nervous guy is Lance.” They offered a light smile for a brief moment. “Did… Did anyone else out of your crew make it out? From my understanding, there were two others, they were some of the best in the Garrison?”

 

Katie's brows furrowed, turning away as she realized Keith, no, _Robin_ had family there, too. Their two parental guardians, adopted into the family. She had seen them before, watched them bond with Matt, which had always been essential to their mission. They had to be tightly knit to work together correctly. Matt, unfortunately, answered wrong. “I’m not… sure. I remember the mission and being captured, but that’s about it. It’s just bits and pieces.”

 

Lance interrupted, “Wait, wait, wait, let's get back to the aliens for a second!” Everyone could feel the anxiety radiate off of him. “What are they? _Where_ are they? Are they coming to kill us? I don’t really want to die from aliens.” Matt shrugged. “Well, that would absolutely suck. Point is, I was rummaging around through Robin’s stuff.” Robin let out a squealed _What?_ “And look,” he pulled out a picture with a smirk. “It’s her boyfriend.” He showed off the picture of Robin standing beside a taller male, perhaps a tad before _Keith’s_ transition. Pidge couldn’t help but let her brows crease more as Robin pulled it back. “Then I read her diary,” Robin pulled the bag away instantly, “and I noticed a bunch of repeated numbers. It looks a lot like a Fraunhofer Line.”

 

Katie took up, “A _what_ line, Lance? Not all of us speak science fluently.” It wasn’t a complete lie. Katie would still be at the top of her class if not for the fact she had dropped out before _Disciplinary Issues_ took hold of her.

 

“Sorry. It’s a number describing the emission spectrum of an element, except this element isn’t one from _Earth,_ as far as I can remember. It’s _way_ up there on stuff we shouldn’t mess with. I thought it might be Voltron, and I think I can build a machine to track it and get to it, _just maybe?_ I may need help celebrating it and all that.”

 

Hunk smirked. “Lance, you beanpole of a genius!”

 

Lance pulled out a paper. “It’s really fascinating! Its wavelength looks like this!”

 

Katie pulled it away, looking at it with furrowed brows. Without a word, she pressed it up to her maps, finding the spot easily.

 

“Bingo.”

 

\---

 

Robin followed Lance, silent as the beeper went crazy around the cave. Katie hummed at Matt’s question.

 

Hunk pressed a hand to the carvings, watching it light up. “What the-”

 

“This has never happened before.” The ground gave in under the five. Robin moved to grab at Lance, Pidge’s hand going to grapple at her brother’s own mitts. The five fell to the ground, covered in water instantly. Based on the stories, it made sense, considering the Blue Lion herself was born _of water._ As they explored, Pidge voiced, “Huh… Wonder how you get in there?”

 

Hunk smirked. “Maybe you just have to knock?” His knuckled wrapped against the shield. Instantly, they were all hit with a vision of lions roaring and a large beast made up of metal.

 

_Woah._

 

“Voltron is a robot,” Lance yelled out.

 

They climbed into the lion, watching as they flew out. They all were greeted with a rather large swirl of clouds, maybe even a teleporter as well as many ships. Pidge pointed at the swirls. “Maybe we should… go in?”

 

\---

 

They slammed down onto the concrete-like substance. Pidge’s hand slipped into her brother’s, giving it one tight clasp before pulling away. They collectively exited, the beast of a machine. As the lion stood up, the four older let out their protests. She glared at the other female, annoyed. Of all things, _this_ was how she would die?

 

The door to the castle crackled, opening slowly. Lance moved out from behind Matt, huffing softly. “Oh, the door is open! Guess I was wrong about you?”

 

They didn’t hesitate to parade through, sticking close together through the halls. Pidge felt their stomach boil and burn, occasionally glancing at Matt and Robin. Robin seemed to be studying the walls while Matt kept his eyes far ahead of them all.

 

“Hold still, scanning for identities,” a voice spoke out. The lights lit up instantly. “Welcome, _Paladins,”_ the voice greeted.

 

Hunk moved forward as Robin examined what seemed to be the control room. The taller looked over at the pods, watching as one unfroze. An orange-haired _possibly teenager_ fell out of one, yelping out, “Uncle!”

 

Hunk hesitantly caught the being, smirking. “Hey, hey, are you okay?”

 

The alien had bright, blue marks over their cheeks, pointed ears standing at attention. As if on instinct, Katie’s hand moved to rub at their cheek, coiling around to touch their ears. A harsh itching took over where their own versions of that would be, as well as on the tip of their nose. Instantly, their gums and fingertips ached as well. They glared at a spot by the controls as the other pod opened.

 

A woman stepped out, tall and regal. She looked much more beat up, scars littering her skin and hair tied in a tight knot. She pulled Hunk away from the younger, body slamming him to the floor. “Who are you? Where are the king and his guards?  _Why_ are you in our castle?”

 

The carrot top huffed. “Look! They’re not Altean! What _are_ they, ‘Llura?”

 

“Stop, stop,” Hunk yelped, arm getting twisted. “We came here ‘cause that big, metal blue lion brought us! It’s not our faults!”

 

“How…” She pulled away, scowl deepening. “How do you have the lion? What species are you?”

 

“We’re human,” Katie growled in return.

 

The aliens' eyes scanned up and down the other, sniffing at the other female. “You don’t _smell_ like the others do. You smell… different.”

 

Lance cringed while Robin aided the carrot-topped alien to look at the controls. “So _that’s_ how it works.”

 

He suddenly gasped. “Allura! We’ve been asleep for ten _thousand_ decaphebes!” He turned to the woman. “The king, everyone! They’re all dead!” His brows furrowed at the reminder that his uncle was dead. “Allura… Everything has been destroyed! Our people, our planets!” He suddenly glared. “Haggar.”

 

Matt flinched. “Haggar?...” The humans spared him a slight look, Katie glancing before switching back to Allura. “I was her prisoner.”

 

“Prisoner? She should be dead? This is impossible! She’s such a cruel woman! How did she find a way to stay alive for so long?!”

 

Matt’s eyes focused in on the prince. “I can’t explain it, but it’s true. She’s still alive. I may only remember bits and pieces, but I _know_ she’s still alive. She’s searching for a superweapon called Voltron.”

 

The general seemed to pull away from Hunk. “That is to be expected, it’s the most powerful thing in the universe. It’s the only thing that can defeat her.” She pressed to the controls, typing in a few things. “We have to find it before she does.” Her hands roamed around the keys with trained precision, already knowing where everything was. “I’m general Allura, and this is prince Coran. Believe it or not, he’s older than I am.”

 

“Not that much!” Coran pouted.

 

Between their talk, Pidge pieced together that she was to pilot the Red Lion, Lance with Yellow, Matt with Black, and Robin with Green, though the Black Lion could only be awakened with all four colored lions present. She also found that while Allura was seventeen, Coran was eighteen. The general, however, was taller and buffer, not to mention her boots seemed to be a rather _high_ advantage.

 

\---

 

Zarkon stalked up to Haggar, brows furrowed beneath the cape. “I feel a resurgence of energy. The Blue Lion had been awakened, as well as Altean. I can feel multiple. I believe it’s safe to assume the others will be found shortly, or at least gone after.”

 

Haggar smirked. “Heironymus’ grandson lives? How?”

 

“I know not, but it is time we reclaim what is rightfully ours.”

 

Haggar hummed. “Yes. I shall wipe that foul race from this universe forever and take back Voltron. Contact my commanders.”

  


\---

 

“Ten thousand years, huh,” Hunk recounted with a frown. “That’s, like, one thousand plus ten.”

 

Katie’s brows furrowed as she looked over at the taller. “That’s times ten.”

 

“Whatever, dropout,” he clashed with a glare. Katie’s eyes widened the slightest, undignified with their expression now thrown into the mix. To say the least, she didn’t exactly expect  _that_ to be one of his names for her. She glared.

 

Lance frowned. “I haven’t eaten since breakfast. Do you understand how long ago that was?”

 

Robin hummed. “Yeah, but you’ve thrown up, like, five times today?”

 

“Hmm, good point,” he spoke before digging his hands into the green goop held before him. He hesitantly stuffed his mouth. God bless his metabolism.

 

Matt looked over at the general and prince. “I can’t believe your civilization created such advanced technology ten thousand years ago.” Lance let out a groan, only to go back to eating instantly. By then, Robin had turned to peer at the alien’s as well, hair flipping slowly with her. “It must have been an incredible place.” The skinny teen let out a groan once more, at which Matt turned. “If you don’t like it, don’t eat it.” He instantly refocused on the aliens.

 

Allura nodded coldly. “Yes, it was. Unfortunately, it’s gone. We’re the last two Alteans alive, I believe.” The prince frowned, looking away from her intense gaze. He focused on the floor as she walked over, offering her arms to him. He gratefully accepted, hugging onto her tightly.

 

A soft squeaking suddenly alerted the prince of something. He pulled away, walking to the cryo-pod he had slept in. To his surprise, there were four tiny mice, all huddled together. He gasped. “‘Llura, look at this! We’re not the last ones left!” He smiled at the four, leaning down to pet them. Fortunately, they didn’t seem to scurry away like he suspected they might.

 

An alarm began blaring, the castle alight with bright red.

 

“A Galra battleship has set its tracker on us.” Allura turned to the prince as he voiced the question most instinctively had.  _How,_ while others had  _Who._

 

Hunk frowned. “I don’t know how, but I bet it’s Kate’s fault.”

 

The younger’s lip stuck out in a pout. “One, say whatever you have to say to make yourself feel better. Two, you  _know_ my name is Katie, not fucking Kate! Three, it’s your fault for getting us stuck on the  _other side_ of a  _wormhole!”_

 

He turned towards her, fists balled. “I’ll stick  _you_ in a wormhole!”

 

“Watch your wording, yo-”

 

“Katie,” Matt yelled sternly. She turned away, moving to her brother with balled fists. Nails dug into her palms, piercing the skin. “Now, stow it, cadets.” Hunk’s arms rose, still pouting. “This is no time to be placing blame. We _have_ to take action instead of fighting with each other.” He turned to the general. “When will they get here?”

 

She hummed, crossing her arms. Her lips moved quickly, soft words leaving her before she spoke, “A couple of Earth days, I believe.”

 

The carrot top smirked. “Good. Let them come. By the time they get here, we’ll have Voltron reformed. We’ll be able to fight our own battle without their threats.”

 

Lance burped, limbs drawing in as he tentatively voiced his apology. “Sorry. Food goo makes me a little burp-y.” His stomach let out a rather loud grumble, his eyes widening as well as Robin’s. He let out a loud hum.

 

Matt’s intense expression returned. Katie peered over at him, taking notice of the collection of white hair, tied into a neat bun. She hadn’t noticed until that moment. “Prince, where are the rest of the lions? How are we going to find them?”

 

The prince gasped, a wide smile gracing his face as he bounced over to the consoles. “Alright, alright, hold on!” His hands typed quickly with the same exact know in them as the generals'. “Okay, the Green Lion is on this one forest-y planet! It’s got all this nature and such, just like, well, a forest! And the Yellow one… Well, she seems to be in a cavern on…” His brows furrowed. “Oh, deary. It seems she’s in one of the Galra’s many digging sites. That may  _possibly_ be an issue.” Lance let out a squeak at that. “The Red Lion is in a Galra fighter ship? Oh, that  _will_ and  _is_ an issue. However, the Black Lion, she can be unlocked with all four of the other lions present, so that won’t be an issue after we get them all here!”

 

\---

 

Coran stood on the platform, hands hesitantly pressing against the two poles. The room lit up. “Well, let’s begin!” He smiled. “The Green Lion, oh, she’s curious! She likes machines and such! With that, I believe that  _you,”_ he pointed to Robin, “Shortstack, are going to be the pilot! You’ve seemed to really fancy all the machinery and tech we have here.”

 

The shorter smirked, despite the insult at their height.

 

“And the Yellow Lion! Oh, she’s strong! And she’s brave, despite all her fears and insecurities! She’s also incredibly kind!” The image of the Yellow Lion flowed in front of Lance. “You shall pilot her!”

 

He pointed to himself, eyes wide, Fear seemed to be clear on his features as he made an undignified noise.

 

“The Black Lion is the true head of Voltron. She needs someone who is level-headed at all times and is a natural born leader. Matt, since you seem to have all these kittens follow you fine, you can be the Lion’s pilot! I’m sure she’ll love you!” Allura looked like she wanted to speak, but bit her tongue. “Now, we already know about the Blue Lion, since she appears to have chosen Hunk to pilot her.” He smiled widely.

 

His expression shifted, losing some enthusiasm. “Red… He is… He’s  _harder_ to deal with, and the most temperamental.” His hands gripped at the consoles. “He’s the most difficult to master… He’s faster and  _much more_ agile than the others, but he’s incredibly unstable.” Katie’s teeth gritted, the realization that  _she_ was going to be pegged with the Lion striking her instantly. She wanted to growl at that, though she kept her held together her expression. “His pilot needs to be someone who relies more on instincts than skill alone. Katie,  _you_ will fly the Red Lion.” She glared daggers at the display.

 

“What?” Hunk squeaked out, smirking. “Her? She crashed almost all her ships.”

 

“I can outfly  _anyone_ here, Hunk, except  _maybe_ Matt.” Her teeth clenched tighter, jaw aching. Matt shot them a warning look.

 

Thankfully, Coran ignored it instead of going after them like the oldest. “Once you five have come together, you will form _Voltron,_ the universe’s most powerful weapon!” The displayed showed the robot.

 

Lance hummed. “Okay, I understand that this is going to be a long trip, but I have multiple questions. Do you have a bathroom, because I have to pee? Wait, wait, do _you guys_ pee? Or is that just an Earth thing?”

 

Matt rolled his eyes. “Robin and I will go after the Green Lion. Hunk, take Lance to get his Lion since you’re good with fighting with Blue already. We can regroup and get Red after since three lions with five humans attacking is much better than five humans and one lion.” Katie’s hands balled up in her pockets, gripping tightly at them. She  _almost_ wanted to scream that this felt wrong in some way. However, she decided against it.

 

Allura hummed. “In the meantime, Coran and I will get the castle up and running. It’ll be easier for us to defend ourselves if needed.”

 

Coran practically jumped up. “I’ll get a pod ready for them, first, though! And I’ll get the Green Lion’s coordinates set in, too!” She nodded to him.

 

\---

 

Robin held tightly to the navigator, tracking through the Forest. She suddenly stopped, hands pressed tightly to the console. She stopped at the edge of the stream, eyes dancing along the water, landing on a boat. “Hey, look!” Matt nodded towards it, the two looking over as a soft groan made its way to their ears. Robin let out a yelp, instinctively climbing atop Matt at the sight of the giant sloth-like creature. She didn’t want to know what everything else looked like beyond that.

 

Her eyes scraped over it. “It’s just a… Whatever that… thing is?”

 

The sloth began to move to the raft, gesturing to it. The two couldn’t help but  _pray_ it was an invitation to something good and not something to kill them. “I think… they want us to get into their canoe?”

 

Matt hummed. “Okay, let’s do it.” The younger tossed him a look that screamed _What the fuck_ that was accompanied with a  _Huh?_ He smirked, pressing forward. “I’ve been locked up in an alien prison for a year, Robin.  _This_ is nothing.” She clearly wanted to comment but found the better answer was just to follow.

 

Thankfully, the ride seemed to be calming, many creatures greeting them. “I wonder if Hunk and Lance are having as good of a time as us.”

 

\---

 

Hunk screamed, lion swirling around the place. Lance was in no better shape, hands gripping at the back of his seat. In fact, he looked close to vomiting, especially at the flashing from the alarms.

 

“We’re gonna die,” he practically sobbed, “Hunk, _Hunk,_ I don’t want to die!”

 

“Shut it,” Hunk suddenly yelled, attempting to steady the lion. “We’re not dying! I refuse to let us die!” He swooped down, nose-diving instantly. The two ships followed. “Now, listen up! I’m going to drop you, got it?! That one cave down there,” he pointed to one with engravings over the top, “that one had lions on it! You should be able to get Yellow!”

 

“Wh-What if she doesn’t want me?! I don’t want to-”

 

“I’m dropping you now!”

 

The teenager went rolling through the sand, anxiety making him, once again, near throwing up. However, the harsh feeling of _energy_ took him over, rejuvenating him. He surged forward, following it. “Oh, oh,  _yeah,”_ he fussed, hands moving to rewire the elevator instantly, “Just  _throw_ me down, Hunk. I could be asleep in the dorms right now, maybe even eating breakfast or something.” It sparked to life.

 

“I could be _dead._ It’s so  _amazing_ here. I totally  _couldn’t_ possibly have a giant mechanical cat that  _may_ kill me if it doesn’t like me. This makes  _so_ much sense, doesn’t it?” Annoyance was clear in his voice as he tapped his foot, the beeper in his hands only getting closer and closer together. Yellow lit up around him as he ventured through the cave.

 

“Okay, now I’m in a _giant_ hole. Now what, Lance?” As if on cue, the ground lit up beneath him once again, yellow light filling his eyes. “Oh, pretty.” He suddenly paused, peering at the stone. “How am I going to get through  _that?”_ He looked around the room, stopping. “Oh!”

  
  
  


Hunk let out a scream.  _“Lance!”_ His eyes widened as he watched the entrance to the cave crumble.

 

\---

 

Robin’s hands moved with her words. “Okay, I know Coran said this was supposed to be my lion, but what if it’s _now_ actually my lion? I mean, he probably  _isn’t_ wrong, he’s a _prince,_ after all. But what if she doesn’t like me? That would be terrible! My brothers, well, not brothers, adopted parents that are more brothers than fathers were great pilots! I’ve always wanted to be a pilot. I read all the fighter manuals but I never got to fly in the simulators, that was Hunk, and he always crashed us. What if I get in there and she _doesn’t_ respond? What if sh-”

 

 _“Robin,”_ the other spoke softly, successfully earning her gaze. She turned instantly, eyes wide. She opened her mouth to apologize but was once again interrupted. “You’re rambling. Listen… Out commander on the Kerberos mission was the smartest man I’ve ever met. He always said, ‘If you get too worried about what could go wrong, you might miss a chance to do something great.”

 

She softly gasped, a light smile gracing her features. She trudged forward, hands at her sides as she went into a full sprint. Matt smiled as he watched Robin jump into the pile of roots, Green Lion emerging seconds later.

 

\---

 

The ground shook, a bright beam piercing the stone. A mechanical beast followed in the beams wake, a roar emitting from the Yellow Lion. “Hey, Hunk, this is  _amazing,”_ Lance yelled through the comm that connected lion to lion.


	2. Chapter 2

Katie pressed through the halls, slipping with trained silence she had learned after years upon years of sneaking around. Her senses were heightened, but she still stuttered at seeing the prince skipping through, leading her to her room. “Katie, do you mind if I ask you a few questions?” 

 

She hummed, “Go for it.” 

 

He opened the door with his thumb, speaking out a soft, “Press your finger to it so it can register you, please?” She did so with a nod, staring at it for a moment before pulling away at the prince’s nod. “What was your family like? I lived with my uncle after my parents died.” 

 

Katie was a little taken aback at his honesty, especially at how open he was with it. Instead, she softly answered, “I never knew either of my parents. I don’t even remember what they looked like. I know my mom left when I was a baby and my guardian died when I was only three-years-old. I thought he was my dad for years, but he wasn’t. And then I was known as a troubled child and got bounced around in orphanages for years.” 

 

“What’s an orphanage,” he asked, head cocked to the side, a bright smile taken up for him. 

 

It broke her heart, knowing that what she would say next would hurt. “It’s where kids go when their parents or guardians die or don’t want them anymore. For me, it was both.” She looked away, remembering the note her caretaker had given her access to once she turned ten, a note from her ‘father’ read out simple things like how he was sorry he couldn’t do better, but at the same time, it was justified because he hadn’t exactly wanted her in the first place, giving her up early on, dying a year and a half later. She suddenly felt the urge to drop the topic altogether, unsure of why she even brought it up in the first place. “So this is my room?” 

 

He nodded, smile shifting to one she couldn’t register. “Yes, it is. I’ll take it you know your way back?” Katie nodded, despite not  _ actually _ knowing her way back. “Alright! ‘Llura and I will continue on, but we’ll call you back the instant any of the others return.” She only nodded once more, watching the prince move with an extra pep in his step, as if he was ready to report this to the general about his findings on earth. 

 

The room was barren, and Katie knew it wouldn't change over the next few months. 

 

Her small break didn’t last long, not when the intercom spoke up,  _ “The paladins are back,” _ in Coran’s much-too-peppy voice, bubbling up in the room. They cringed, beginning their trek back to the main hall. It didn’t take too long, just a simply  _ follow Lance and Hunks laughter. _ And that’s what they did. 

 

“What now,” Katie asked, hands getting stuffed in their pockets. 

 

Instead of getting an answer from the friendly aliens, the screen lit up and showed off a new alien, one the others hadn’t seen before. “Prince Coran and General Allura, I am Commander Trugg of the Galra Empire,” she voiced, loud and commanding. “I come on behalf of Empress Haggar, Lord of the Known Universe. I am here to confiscate the lions. Turn them over to me, or your planet will be destroyed without any hesitation in the least.” The screen flickered out on a smug smirk she tossed into the ring. 

 

“That is… One way to find out,” they mumbled, turning to Matt with a fierce gaze. “What do we do now, Matt?” 

 

“Well, first of all, let’s not panic. We need to stay calm.” 

 

Lance was already skittish. “What do you mean,  _ stay calm? _ I barely stay calm as is! There is an alien race ready to kill us at any second and now we-” 

 

_ “Lance,” _ Katie spoke solidly, stern. “We’ll get the Red Lion. He’s on that ship, right?” They turned to Coran, who nodded. “Alright, then. Robin, take me and Matt up there. Matt’s good with fighting and he can give you pointers if needed, even though I don’t think you’ll need them. Since Lance and Hunk both have lions, they can offer distractions and back up. Once I get Red, we can get out of there and get Black. It’s simple.” 

 

Lance seemed completely against that, but the second shortest of the group was already in motion, Matt following. Hunk was already beginning to push Lance towards the Lion, giving him no room to fight. 

 

-

 

Coran pressed through to the castles main defenses, smiling widely at them. He could say his Pop Pop had done rather well on all of this, which he  _ had. _ It only added on to their success in the end. He paused in one of the rooms, opening the door before shimmying in. “This is the armory!” He held an arm out as it lit up. 

 

The paladins all voiced their own different type of amazement at being told such. Allura began her soft whispers of her doubt to the prince, though he immediately dismissed them with a smile. 

 

Matt smirked. “Alright, boys and girls,” there came a distinct flinch from both classified under _ girls, _ looking at each other with pity,  _ knowing _ what the flinches meant. “Time to suit up!” 

 

The five were dressed quickly, both Katie and Robin moving out of the room. There was a soft question that came from the younger, “I know who you are… I’m not going to tell anyone.” Robin caught their eyes, wide with fear. “I haven’t come out yet… and I’m not going to out someone else, that’s something an absolute asshole would do.” They turned away, pulling off the binder. Allura had already spoken up that the suits had their own support, thankfully. “If you need binders or anything, I think we’ll fit the same chest size. Mine may be a tad… bigger, though.” They gripped at the black fabric. “I also already asked Allura about menstruating stuff. She has that, too. Alteans are incredibly well versed on cultures and such.” 

 

Robin, or rather, _ Keith _ let out a soft hic. “Thank you,” they whispered at that, sniffling. Katie silently accepted the hug without a word.

 

“No problem.” 

  
  


“Are we all ready to go,” Coran asked, bouncing around the room. 

 

“You forgot the bayards,” the taller Altean fussed. 

 

Coran let out a high pitched noise. “Oh, of course! My apologies, Paladins! Come hither!” He opened up a small hatch on a table, watching it clink with bright eyes. “These are bayards! They can form any weapon, though they usually start out as a soul linked weapon!” He passed them out, frowning at Matt. “I’m sorry, but… We couldn't seem to find the Black Paladin’s Bayard… It was lost in the war.” 

 

Matt hummed, flexing the robotic arm with a hum. Suddenly, it lit up brightly, a smirk on his lips instantly. “Don’t worry, Prince, I can take care of myself.” 

 

Lance’s Bayard was a rather large gun, the yellow paladin falling forward at its weight before balancing himself. It shifted to something a tad smaller. Katie watched their own form, a dagger that held sparks on the metal. As Hunk’s turned into a large canon, the blue paladin smirked. “Awe, you’ve got a cute little Bayard.” 

 

Katie didn’t hesitate to press it against the blue armor, not enough to cut but enough to definitely shock. And shock it did, the paladin falling to the ground as the younger smirked. “Yeah, it  _ is _ pretty cute.” They watched with wide eyes as Keith’s turned into a grappling hook, emitting stronger waves than their own. The two tossed smirks at each other. 

 

Coran smiled softly. “Paladins, calm down. You need to get the Red Lion from Lahn’s ship before anything happens to the rest of the Lions. We can only get to the Black Lion if we have  _ all _ of the colored lions.” 

 

Katie cocked their hip to the side. “How are we going to know where the Red Lion _ is, _ anyway?” 

 

Robin smirked as if he were playing coy. “It’s not a matter of  _ we, _ Katie. It’s more a  _ you _ situation since he’s your lion.” 

 

“Robin’s right,” Lance nodded in agreement. “Once you get out there, you should be able to, like, feel a connection to the Lion. You know, sort of like how you felt with the Blue Lion, I think?” 

 

“You had a connection with the Blue Lion,” Coran asked suddenly, “How did you do that? You’re not the Blue Lion’s pilot?” 

 

Katie shrugged. “I don’t know? It just sort of drew me toward it? I can’t explain it.” 

 

“Well, that’s how you should feel with Red, then,” he smiled, nodding. “You should be able to feel it and sort of track it down, as long as you are  _ actually _ it’s Paladin, but, again, I can’t truly be held accountable. I was just going by first impressions.” 

 

There was a sudden silence as he turned noncommittedly, only breaking when Katie spoke out a sarcastic, _ “Thanks.” _

 

Coran replied with, “You’re very welcome, Number Five! I’ve named you all based on height, just in case!” 

 

“But you know how you felt that crazy energy in the desert,” Hunk asked with a cocky smirk, as always. 

 

Katie rolled their eyes. “Yeah, you made fun of me for it.” 

 

“And I’m proud of that. But that’s exactly what it’s like with the rest of the Lions, I guess. It’s all that magic mumbo-jumbo.” 

 

Coran turned sharply once again. This time, though, his stone face is a warning. “Katie, I’m going to have to remind you that the Red Lion is incredibly temperamental. You’ll have to earn his respect to have his approval to pilot him.” 

 

Katie groaned. “Ah, yes, yet  _ another _ hurdle to throw myself over. Stupid fuckin’ magical Lions and crap. I could be at home, snackin’ on something but instead I was just thrown into a war without any severance, not even a promise that I’ll live the next five minutes.  _ Thanks, _ Coran. I’ll just throw myself at the shield and pray it works.” 

 

“Would you be snacking on mice?” 

 

“Shut the fuck up, Hunk,” Katie growled, stomping with a sharp turn. “Let’s just get this over while we still have the element of surprise.” 

 

The room is left in silence as Katie stomped out. Robin is quick to ask, “So is Katie a top, or?...” 

 

Matt thwacked the back of their head with a glare instantly. 

 

-

 

Hunk signaled to the cruiser, face to face with the giant Galra. “Attention, Galra ship. Do not fire. We’re surrendering out lions.” 

 

The Blue and Yellow Lions hovered in the air, iffy about this whole situation. Hunk voiced his concerns near instantly. “Lance, I don’t like this that much. I hope it works.” 

 

Robin cut a large circle into the underside of the ship, kicking it in near instantly. The other two pressed their way into the ship, Robin slowly slipping in after, following silently. “We’re in,” they whispered softly, reporting to the two paladins in their lions. 

 

“H-H-Hunk, what is that,” the three heard over the comms. 

 

Hunks yelped. “I think that’s our signal to get out of here!” Katie scowled, fingers flexing at the surge of energy she felt in the ship. “Lance, you dismantle the ion cannon while I take these jackasses on a space ride.” 

 

_ “Language,” _ Matt warned just in time for Lance’s response of, “Ten-four.” 

 

The sounds of explosions took over their ears, through Matt, Robin, and Katie all trekked forward, looking for a control panel, or really just anything they could get their hands on. Matt suddenly paused, groaning. Katie turned sharply, concern clear on her face. “I’ve been here before. After I was taken by the Galra cruiser off Kerberos, they brought us here.” 

 

“So, that means they might be held captive here? The other crewmembers?” Robin asked hopefully. Katie gave them a look that screamed  _ I’m sorry. _ They didn’t notice. “W-We have to rescue them!” 

 

Matt gritted his teeth. “Robin, we don’t have the time. We have to get the Red Lion and get out of here before something happens to Arus.” 

 

Robin glared. “We can’t do that! We can’t just  _ leave _ innocent people here! What if they’re in danger?!” 

 

“Look, no one understands that more than me. I  _ was _ a prisoner here. But in war, we have to take what we can get and make sacrifices. Now let’s get moving.” 

 

“No,” Robin growled, near yelling. 

 

“No?” 

 

“Commander Shirogane is my  _ brother. _ If anything, that means I have to save him and his husband. They were the ones on the Kerberos mission with you.” Katie’s eyes widened. Bold of them to come out like _ that, _ considering that they had all been to dinner together so many times before. 

 

“Commander  _ Shiro _ is your brother,” Matt asked with wide eyes as well. Katie shot the other a look of  _ what the fuck _ that earned a passive flick of the bird. 

 

_ “Yes, _ and I’ve been searching everywhere for Shiro and Adam! And I’ll be damned if I give up when I’m this close.”

 

“I’m coming with you,” Matt declared as they turned.

 

_ “What,” _ Katie yelled, voice cracking in panic. Their nails press deep. 

 

“I know where the prisoners are held. Katie, I’m sure you can find the Red Lion on your own. You found the Blue Lion just fine without anyone else’s help, even if you couldn’t get to her.” Katie was a tad shocked at that. “It’s just a minor change of plan, you’ll be fine. Just remember, patience yields focus. So-” the loud sound of a door open suddenly signaled him to say, “Run!” 

 

Katie turned one way, instantly finding a fork in the road. They glared at it. “Great, now which way,” they wondered aloud. The loud stomping of footsteps made them go left, begging that was the correct way. 

 

“Their cannon has a force field,” Lance reported with a groan. 

  
  
  


Allura frowned as the particle barrier fell. “That’s not supposed to happen.” She’s quick to lean down, checking the systems. She frowns. “The crystal is out of line. Coran, can you reach that?” 

 

Coran moved to where the other Altean stood, frowning as he attempted to press his hand in, carefully avoiding the other wires and such that potentially posed a threat to his well being. “I’m sorry, ‘Llura, I can’t reach it,” the prince declared with a frown. 

 

There was a sudden squeaking that took over the red hed’s mind. He moved over to watch the mice scuttle in. Allura gasped. “They aren’t going to hurt themselves, are they?” 

 

The way the particle barrier suddenly sprung up and the mice ran out was her only reply that, yes, they were fine. 

  
  
  


Katie groaned as they got to the same fork in the road for the eighth time. “You’ve gotta be kidding me,” they bemoaned. They panted, irritated. “Patients yields focus,” they reminded themselves, shutting their eyes. 

 

Sharp growls coiled inside their mind, showing hall after hall, turn after turn that lead to the Lion. “Gotcha.”

  
  
  


Robin tackled the drone before it could move, quick to pop off the back and pull at its circuits. They moved on instincts, messing with the wires and coding. The machine rebooted with a stark green and blue instead of red and purple. “I think I’m gonna call you… Rover,” Robin smiled as it followed. 

 

The machine followed them to a door. Robin was hesitant but still spoke up, “Rover, please open the door,” just going out on a whim. Thankfully, the robot didn’t make them look like a  _ complete _ idiot like they thought it might. Instead, the robot moved to what looked like a keypad, sensor flashing over it. The door hummed as it opened. 

 

Instead of suspected humans, there stood multiple aliens, all curled in together, whether it be to keep warmth or for mental support, neither human knew. One was quick to call out, “The rumors are true! The Champion has come to save us!” 

 

“Champion,” Matt asked with a frown, confused at their praise. 

 

“Yes! You’re the one who rules the rink! You’ve fought countless times! You’re the warlock Zarkon’s champion!” 

 

“We don’t much time,” Robin reminded as they scanned through Rover’s projected schedule. “Let’s go.” 

  
  
  
  


Hunk smirked as he zoomed through. “This is so much more fun without Lance vomiting all over everything!” 

 

As if on time, Lance let out a loud groan. “I can’t get past this force field!” 

  
  
  
  


Katie pressed their palm to the force field. “Bingo. Let’s get out of here. Open up.” 

 

They frowned at the lack of response. “It’s me, Katie. Your buddy.” There still stood no reply. “It’s me.  _ Katie. _ Your- I am your paladin!” 

 

The only response was the loud noises of shots, all echoing through the room. THey groaned, taking shelter behind a control panel. “I’m bonding with you,” they yelled. “Hey, come on, we’re connected!” 

 

They held the shield up, summoning their Bayard with a fierce glare before beginning their trek through the Galra soldiers. They ran through, dagger cutting them down. “You’re not getting this lion,” Katie growled as they cut through the robot’s midsection, followed by another’s legs. They were suddenly thrown back by a harsh round of shots. 

 

Katie summoned their mouthpiece, slamming their fist down on the airlock. It opened, throwing out the robots. Katie held tight to the pull, groaning rather loudly. A piece of metal hit their hand, making them flinch harshly. They desperately grabbed at any leverage, only for another to harshly hit their other hand. They fell, tendrils of space lapping up their body. They couldn’t help the anxious, heavy breathing at the thought that this may be their last few breaths with the threat of floating in space forever. 

 

A load roar entered their mind, mentally heard, unsure if it was physical or not. However, the mechanical Lion’s jaw opened widely, catching Katie in its grasp. 

 

“Good kitty,” Katie purred to the giant feline, “Let’s roll.” 

  
  
  
  


Robin panted, directing their yells at the prisoners. “Come on, we need to leave!” They motioned to the escape pod. 

 

“Halt,” a soldier yelled, prying a gasp from Robin. 

 

Matt moved forward, pushing Robin behind himself as he put up a defensive position. Unfortunately, that seemed to trigger something in their left arm, a loud groan being let out as he sunk to the ground. Robin yelped in concern. His hand lit up, bright against the brainwashing dark background. Noises became distorted as Matt suddenly stood, expression changed to one of stone. He took out the bots without an issue, hand slamming into their midsections. 

 

“Thank you, Matt,” one of the prisoners called as the pod began to take off. 

  
“Wait, how do you-” Matt was cut off by the doors closing. 

 

“Matt, that was amazing,” Robin yelled with pride. “Where did you learn to do all of that?” He shrugged to the younger. 

  
  
  
  


The Yellow Lion finally slammed into the cannon as Lance yelled happily. Her body sculpted the metal into something else, messy. “Guys, look,” he chirped out. The Green Lion flowed up beside them. “You guys made it!

 

“Kitty Rose has left the stage,” Robin chortled. 

 

Hunk scoffed. “Let’s get the heck out of here before they realize we messed up their cannon.” 

  
  
  
  


Despite the rather large presentation to earn the Black Lion, Katie truthfully found it boring, standing beside Robin with a slack expression. “I wonder how bad your participation grade is going to be after this,” they remarked to the older, multicolored eyes scanning over them. Robin snorted. 

 

The warning Coran let out for the need of Voltron was noted instantly, the others running to their lions. At the large blast, Katie let out a bored, “Well, that’s a bit overpowered, don’t you think?”

 

“We are part of the strongest being in the universe, Katie.  _ We’re _ overpowered,” Robin reminded. 

 

“Smartass.”

 

_ “Language,” _ Matt groaned. “We have to form Voltron or the world will be destroyed as we know it. Are we a team or not?” 

 

There were nods, though Lance voiced after a second of silence, “I’m nodding. If everyone else nodding?” 

 

The others groaned out, “Yes.” 

  
  
  


“We gotta do something,” Katie groaned into the comm. 

 

“Combine,” Lance yelled, slamming Yellow into Red. 

 

The Lion let out a soft hiss as is stood, matching Katie’s groaned, _ “Hey!”  _

 

“Okay, that didn’t work.” 

  
  
  


“Welp,” Katie spoke nonchalantly, “It’s been an honor flying with you all.” 

 

“Shut the fuck up, Katie.” 

 

Katie groaned at Hunk’s response, interrupted by a harsh pull in their gut as Matt took up a speech on how they were the universes’ only hope. They all agreed, somehow sparked with a sudden need to fight. 

 

The day was theirs for the taking. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I fuckinnnnn hate season one because it's so damn slow so these chapters won't be as accurate as they should be, because I don't give a single fuck. However, I am going to be taking a lot of season 2 seriously, given that I have a couple of episodes already written out, given that I love Pidge and Keith a hell of a lot. Throw hands. I'm here to give everyone the world. Fuck season 8


	3. Some Assembly Required

Lance’s door opened just in time for Katie to run past, the older falling down onto the floor. Katie leaned down to pick him up, their eyes full of concerns, though Lance noticed that few were actually for him. He didn’t comment, though, too tired to pry and too aware of her sprinting away from him to question. He followed instantly. 

 

“Where is Hunk,” the general groaned, annoyed as the other two trampled in. “Only Matt is in his armor! Why aren’t you three dressed and ready to go?” 

 

Lance groaned softly. “Allura, it was our first day. We’re humans, we’re supposed to get slowly lulled into it, not thrown into everything we’re actually all adults and we know what we’re supposed to do. I doubt even Matt knows what to do.” 

 

The adult shrugged while Allura had little to no change in attention. Her only reaction was anger, growling out her words. “That’s no excuse! The won’t lull you into anything! You’re all adults now, and that’s all you’ll get! You won’t even get a warning like Coran and I gave you!” 

 

Hunk walks through the door at that moment, smirking as he sips what Lance hopes is water. “And were you? We could all be dead!” 

 

Lance rolls his eyes. “You all got to sleep for ten thousand years! This isn’t fair! On Monday, I was in school with my best friend and out third wheel partner and now I have flown through space in a giant cat, fought some army dude, and eaten goo in some castle. That’s a lot to process in, uh, what’s today?” He scratches his cheek, confused. 

 

Coran typed something quickly. “It’s the third quintant of the Spicolian movement. Hump Day!” 

 

“It’s a lot to process,” Lance reiterates with a sideways glance at the prince. 

 

Allura frowns, typing up something after pushing the prince away from the keyboard. “All of these red dots are distress beacons we’ve picked up over the last ten thousand years.” The room is instantly lit up, red overtaking blue. “We are the universe’s last hope, honestly. Unless we can change things up soon, even we will be overtaken.” She swipes her hand, showing off one of the few places lit up by blue. “This is where Earth is. With the Blue Lion being discovered there, an attack is inevitable by now. We have to prevent that as much as we possibly can.” 

 

“We have to learn how to form Voltron,” Matt hums, turning to his team. “If we are an actual team all accepted by the Lions, then we’re all wayward humans that are supposed to somehow save this universe. We have to learn how to do our job properly.” 

 

“Hold on. I want to talk to the prisoners we rescued from the ship.” 

 

Coran tosses a smile to Robin. “We have them resting up right now. They’re all asleep and probably will be for a while. Until then, you have all the time to train!” He smiles to the group. “Now, get to your lions?” 

 

\--

 

The paladins all agreed that having lasers repetitively shot at them was uncalled for as they all settled in the lounge, sweaty and gross from stress. Katie especially, given that their lion prefers being stored in hotter conditions than cold ones. They’re all irritated, especially the redfaced one that still has sweat dripping on them as they towel off, only in the black undersuit. The rest of their suit was discarded to the side. 

 

Allura smiled at suddenly seeing them all. “You did it! You formed Voltron!” 

 

Hunk shook his head. “No, we waited until the defenses went down and then we came back.” 

 

Allura passed a glare to the prince. “I had to divert the power to test other things!” 

 

“We don’t fight well together. Katie’s too chaotic to team up with.” 

 

Before the younger can chirp out their reply, Coran speaks up. “Well, I’m not surprised! The original Paladins fought alongside each other for years upon years! They fought hundreds of battles together. They were like a back of yalmors linked by the ears!” While the others cringe, Katie’s struck with recognition in their mind, tempted to ask about them. They don’t get the chance as the others speak. 

 

“Well, is there any way to bond out minds together, then?” Matt asks. 

 

“There is!” 

  
  
  
  


“Alright, Paladins, the Paladin code says that you must put your team member’s safety above your own,” Coran declares over the loudspeaker with a bright smile, “so that means that in this exercise, you must protect your fellow Paladins before yourself! A swarm of drones is about to attack, so, on your mark, get set, _ go!” _

 

With that warning, the swarm began immediately, moving in. They circled around despite Lance’s confused babble. Instantly, Lance ducks as a beam is thrown at him, Robin out within the first shot. 

 

_ “Lance,” _ they yell as they fall down. Lance falls exactly two shots later, dramatically swan diving into the void. The other three move around to a closed circle together, tightly knit. Coran reports on them again and again, watching for the thirty seconds they have before increasing the intensity. The bots swoop around quickly. 

 

“Keeping up over there, Kat?” Hunk taunts. 

 

“Just shut up and cover me,” Katie replies without a thought, the words not even absorbed in their mind. 

 

He scoffs, turning to the other. “Me? I own this drill. You’re the one that needs to concentrate.” Within that instant, they find out that Katie was  _ not _ the one that needed to concentrate as she dropped, covering hunk despite all his nags. Hunk, however, only lifted his foot at the beam that fell, not dropping in the least, only going higher. The youngest’s back is hit, falling rather ungraciously with their legs tucked underneath them. Matt took pity on that. Despite his attention being more so on the bots, he knew their position was less than ideal. 

 

Hunk goes next, refusing to drop. The instant Matt turns to protect himself, a beam hits him, sending off a rather loud, _ “Fuck,” _ as he fell. Coran facepalms, shaking his head. Allura groans as well. 

  
  
  
  


“You must trust in each other, as well,” Allura recounts with harsh words. “This ancient paladin maze will teach you that trust. Your teammate can see the walls, but you cannot. So, listen carefully. If you even  _ touch _ the walls, you’ll get shocked. In the Galra world, that means instant death. Do not fail us now, Hunk.” 

 

The Blue Paladin groaned at how dramatic the other was being. “Whatever, who’s leading me?” 

 

Katie presses a curled fist to their chin, closely examining the maze. “Take two steps forward, then turn left.” 

 

Hunk groans. “Not Katie. Why does she get to be the man on the mic?” 

 

“Just sit tight, Hunk. You’ll get your turn to boss around the other Paladins.” Allura reminds sternly. 

 

“Like I said, two steps forward, turn left, then take three steps that way.” The Red Paladin reminds, no malice in their voice. 

 

Instead of listening, Hunk takes three steps forward instantly, immediately getting zapped. He wails, “You did that on purpose,” pointing an accusing finger at the observation box.

 

“You’re not listening. I said two steps forward, turn left, then take three steps that way.” 

 

“No, you didn’t! You said turn right!” 

 

Allura smirks as she plays over a few ticks beforehand, successfully proving Katie to be truthful. 

  
  
  
  
  


Allura sighed into the comms, fed up with the five humans. “You’ll never be able to form Voltron unless every single one of you has a strong bond with your lions.”

 

“Not a problem. Me and Blue are best buds for life, for real.” 

 

“That’s good, Hunk, because you’ll need that in order to not have any issues with this exercise. Everyone, put your lions into a nosedive.” They follow obediently. “This is an expert level drill you should not attempt until you’ve been flying for years. However, we don’t have years, so we must improvise with what we have.” There’s a sudden metallic noise through the comms. “Activating training helmets.” 

 

Hunka and Lance both let out panicked screams at the sudden lack of a surrounding, pitch black. The other three let out gasps. Hunk squeals, “Allura, what’s happening? I can’t see!” 

 

“You must learn to see through your lion’s eyes! The goal is to pull up right before you crash into the ground. Feel what the lion feels!” 

 

Lance whimpers. “Mine feels scared,” he declares before pulling away, just barely managing to hit not a cliff as he does so.

“You still going, Katie,” Hunk snarks. 

 

“I am. In fact, I’m speeding up,” the thrill-seeker retaliates, trusting their lion. They close their eyes, silently begging their weak link to be bound better. 

 

Hunk yells out that he’s doing the same, much to Katie’s annoyance. They egg each other on, only to crash loudly. The Red Lion hisses at the Blue Lion as his Paladin lays against the front windshield. Lance groans as his lion falls. “This was all your fault, but I win.” Katie only lets out a pitiful noise, their body suddenly aching due to the throw. They have to force themselves to learn to breathe once again while tears prickle their eyes. They’ve felt worse. 

 

“What was that noise,” Robin asks about the whimper, concerned for their fellow Paladin. Katie only tears off their helmet at the static, head hurting. Maybe a concussion, though they couldn’t care less. “Did they crash?” Robin listens to their Lion, a hot feeling of guilt washing over them as they pull up. It shakes them both as they hit a stone cliff before falling into a field, but it was better than what could have been. 

 

Matt stays focused, eyes closed and completely silenced. Within the last second, he pulls up, instantly congratulated by Allura and Coran alike. Hunk calls him a showoff.

  
  
  
  
  


Katie didn’t like sitting in a circle with their mind open for all. The blade in their room flickers on the screen a few times, much too quickly for the others to catch, especially with their eyes closed. Then there are blurred faces, the feeling of someone digging around in their head, searching their memories. It’s either Matt or Hunk, maybe even both. Blurry faces strike their memories, followed by Sev’s face. The way the memories suddenly halt, Katie pieces together that it was Matt, especially as his screen flickers to their face.

 

Their home is displayed, a rickety shack. However, it’s suddenly fixed up, like it _ used _ to be, though Katie can’t remember a time like that. It’s a bit of an odd discovery. They strive to dig into their memories far enough to see their father’s face, maybe even mothers. A face with bright green and blue markings appear just long enough for the Red Paladin to get a taste, only to get a taste at it before flickering away to their  _ other _ father, the one that strictly raised them without the want before dropping them off. Their eyes snap open with the threat of tears, brows furrowed, needing a distraction. They didn’t want to cry, not in front of the others they had just met. 

 

Thankfully, Robin is that distraction. Katie sends a silent _ thank you _ to them. However, the reason why makes them look away. “Stoop rooting around in my head,” they yell at Hunk. 

 

Hunk frowns. “Hey, I thought we were supposed to be open,” he defends himself. 

 

“Yeah,” Lance more asks than supports, “You can look around in my head-hole.” 

 

“Everyone has to able to look around in everyone’s head-hole,” Allura reminds with a stern voice. “Back to it.” 

 

Red and Green don’t sync up, not how they’re supposed to. They take the blame instantly as the image flicks back to the two male’s faces. “Katie,” Hunk yells while Lance goes to, “Robin!” 

 

Robin throws down the headset, “I don’t like people rooting around in my head!” 

 

Thankfully, Matt takes to Robin instead of Katie. “Come on. We were getting the hang of this.” He gives a sympathetic smile that falls when he notices their strained look. 

 

“I’m just… I’m just tired, okay?” 

 

They plea to get off the charges silently. Katie does the same, though they focus on the ground as Matt’s gaze flickers over to the other unsure Paladin. “Alright,” he gives with a soft sigh. “We’ll take a break for now.” 

  
  
  
  
  


Coran passes them all water pouches, smiling. “You all have been working awfully hard today, considering this is the second day you’ve all been together. Maybe it is time to relax a little?” 

 

“What are you doing lying around,” Allura asks with a glare centered on the Paladins.”You’re supposed to be training!” 

 

Just resting a bit, Allura. We can’t push them too hard!” 

 

The Holts pass of passive-aggressive blankness to the General, daring her to push too much. Matt, however, drops it after a moment. Katie doesn’t, slurring the pouch. 

 

“What do you mean, _ ‘can’t push too hard?’ _ Get up, you lazy lumps! It’s time you faced the Gladiator!” 

 

Katie groaned as they stood. “If I wanted all this, I should have just stayed with Hanta,” they groaned, popping their back. If they weren’t sore already, they sure were now, though mentally. Matt’s eyes widened at that remark, concerned. 

 

“Did you say something, Katie,” Allura dared. 

 

They glared.  _ “I said, _ ‘If I wanted this, I should have _ stayed with Hanta.’” _

 

“And who is Hanta?” 

 

“Someone you most certainly learn about until my death,” the other snaps, moving to the side. They dared the general to pull something quick, their own normal blade strapped to their side underneath the thigh of the suit, not to mention that they had their Bayard there.

 

-

 

Katie covers Matt, whining, “Are you okay, Matt?” It’s not enough, though, the younger suddenly getting thrown into their guardian. They apologize, though they’re thankful he took the fall. 

 

“That combat simulator was set to a level fit for an Altean child! You’re not even close to working as a team, let alone ready to face Zarkon!” 

 

“We’re not fucking aliens, though,” Katie yells straight to the General’s face, standing up despite the way their body protested. “We’ve never had to train ourselves to fight, at least not any of us that are normal!” They tastefully left out the bit that they  _ had _ figured out how to do so after a year of being on their own. “So stop acting like we were all trained and we aren’t fleshy humans, okay?” Matt pulls them back from the general with a warning look. 

 

-

 

“Allura, I want you to think about what you’re doing,” Lance warns with a glare. 

 

“Don’t worry,” Coran chips in, “This is a classic bonding exercise! You get to feed each other, just like a pack of yalmors!” 

 

Lance attempts to take a bite, rather surprised when Hunk accidentally hits his hand, food goo splattering the wall, chair, and his face. He’s quick to apologize at the Yellow Paladin’s glare and whine. He attempts to take another bite. This time, he gets Hunk’s hand instead, which is pulled back, goo getting thrown. Katie’s hand lands directly in Hunk’s food goo. 

 

“Now you’re defiling my food goo, huh,” he groans. 

 

The younger would never admit that they were tempted to apologize, but push it away to snap, “It’s your fault! This is such shit!” 

 

Instead of Matt getting to call out their language, Allura stands sharply. “Do Earthlings always complain about everything?” 

 

“Can’t you just give us a break?” Matt raises a cautious brow. “We’ve all been working really hard today.” 

 

“Yeah!” Katie stands, hands moving as they speak. Hunk and Robin both seem pretty lax with the motions. “We’re not some prisoners for you to toy with, like… Like… Like, uh-” 

 

“Like a bunch of prisoners,” Hunk interjects with gusto. 

 

Katie sends him a silent thank you before suddenly voicing it. “Yes, thank you, Hunk!” 

 

Coran frowns. “Oh, you do _ not _ yell at the general like that!” 

 

Robin rolls their eyes. “Oh, the general of what?” We’re the only ones out here and she’s no general of ours!” 

 

Food goo greets Robin’s temple, aimed from the General herself. There’s a moment of tense silence before Katie yells,  _ “Go loose, Keith!”  _

 

And so ensues a food fight, up until Coran calls it off happy to say they were working as a team. It’s all fine until they fall, just after announcing they would form Voltron. 

 

-

 

“I’m so charged up! I don’t think I’ll be able to sleep tonight!” 

 

Katie smirks, flicking their hand to the side at Hunk as Lance shimmies in between the two. “Not me. I’m going to sleep as soon as I hit the pillow.” It’s a lie that both they and Matt know, both fluent in their mostly nocturnal lifestyle. 

 

“I just want you to know that I realized when we were in Voltron, we’re brothers, man,” Lance calls as he pulls the two into a tight hug. “I mean… Siblings, right?” he asks, looking at Katie and Robin. 

 

“Brothers,” Katie asks Robin with a smirk, who repeats it instantly with their own smirk. The two are incredibly happy no one called out the fact the Katie had accidentally called the older  _ Keith _ earlier that day. 

 

“Now we’re all connected, though. No secrets, no barriers, no nothing.” Guilty looks overtake Robin and Katie, but both push them aside with smiles. It’s so quick that they barely even register it themselves. “Brothers, all the way. I love you guys.” 

 

“G-forces mess with your head a little bit,” Katie teases the older with a smile as Matt stand to leave, ready for bed himself. 

 

“Yeah, maybe, I don’t know. It’s been a tough last few days.” 

 

Katie stands on the couch, pushing themselves up to the upper ground. Matt smiles at the Green Paladin. “Going to bed, Robin?” 

 

“In a minute,” they reply. 

 

Matt still keeps his smile. “Good work today. We’re really coming together.” 

 

As the others leave, Robin pulls out the picture in their pocket, frowning at it. The mice scurry up to examine the photograph themselves. “I miss my family,” they admit with a frown. 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just want to get my shit out there and posted while I still have motivation. it takes me like 3 and a half, maybe 2 and a half hours to write each chapter and then five more minutes to edit it, so big ass oof. Expect a shit ton of chapters y'all. I'll be adding in a lot more swaps n stuff so yeet I guess.


	4. Chapter 4

“Great job on training today, everyone. We’re really getting the hang of Voltron.” 

 

Hunk smiled widely, much to Katie’s annoyance as he loudly boasted, “Seriously, how far do you think my lion kicked the broken alien ship? It must have been, like, a mile.” 

 

Katie groaned as the other two disbanded. “Yeah, that’ll come in handy when the Galra challenges us to a soccer match.” 

 

“Hey, I did something pretty cool and you couldn’t handle it. I get it,” he cockily ployed. 

 

“Your kick ruined our balance. We fell,” Katie minded as they pressed away from the older. 

 

“Hey, that falling was Lance’s fault.” 

 

“Hey!” 

 

Matt, the peacekeeper, steps in to chide the two before anything can break out once more. “All right, save your energy for fighting Zarkon.” 

 

Coran opens the door with a spiffy smile. “Hello, guys and girl. How was the workout?” 

 

Katie cringes. “You can just say guys, you know? It’s not uncommon for Earthlings to just address everyone as guys or men.” 

 

“But isn’t it sexist, then? That’s what Allura said?” 

 

“It sort of is,” they more questioned, hands shifting upwards. 

 

“Then guys and girl it is!” He announces with just as much hype as he had to begin with.

 

Matt shakes his head, changing the topic. “Are you and Allura almost done fixing the Castle so we can leave this planet?” 

 

Coran nods quickly, moving to the table to plop down a dish he held in his hands only seconds prior. He smiles as he presents it. “Until then, though, I made you all this dish! It’s traditional paladin food, stacked up in protein and other vitamins a human body needs! I know it smells disgusting, but that means it’s healthy!” He pulls off the top, presenting the mush of green with mustard yellow things blistered on it, some oozing. They all cringe, both at the smell and look. 

 

“You want me to get hooked from food goo to this,” Lance asks with a frown. “Why can’t you pick on something you want us hooked on?” 

 

Katie crosses her arms, looking away from Hunk as the Blue Paladin stares at the prince, taking in the conversation he has. They don’t listen to it, only knowing lance leaves the room by the sound of the door opening and his footsteps fading. There’s soft talk of Robin before Matt leaves the room. Coran pushes the food to them, watching Lance make the excuse that he feels sick if he eats after training, which was a clear lie but Katie doesn’t point that out as she takes bites of the gunk Coran made. They’ve eaten worse. 

  
  
  
  


“You look almost as nervous as I am,” Matt mumbles to Robin as he steps into the room where the younger is frantically tapping their foot on the floor. 

 

“I just want to know if they know anything about my family,” Robin concludes instantly, stormy eyes looking up at him behind the rims of their glasses. “I have to at least try to get them back.” 

 

Matt nods. “I know. One of the few things that kept me going was the thought of coming back to Katie and Sev.” 

 

“Who’s Sev,” Robin asks with peaked interest. 

 

Matt smiles, taking a seat beside the younger paladin. He had enough time to speak about it with Robin. “Sev is…  _ Was _ my fiance. I’m not sure if they still are. We didn’t exactly leave off on the best of terms.” 

 

Robin turns to him completely, body facing his. “What’s your fascination with Katie, anyway?” 

 

“I adopted her,” he answered simply, frowning. How did no one know about Sev and Katie? They always did stuff together after the adoption. “How does no one know that?” 

 

Robin shrugs. “I don’t know. I know Shiro and Adam and Curtis were close with you, not sure about Sev, though. I ran away a little bit after I found out about the Garrison actually lying to everyone, then I got kicked out of the Garrison. There was a whole name change and everything.” They shrug again with a half smile. 

 

Their conversation gets interrupted, a cryo-pod whizzing as it opens up. One of the aliens falls out, Matt tentatively capting them with a frown. 

  
  
  
  


Katie pushes away Hunk’s arm, the two fighting over the food Lance had laid out. If the two didn’t have a war between each other beforehand, they sure did now, hands moving quickly. Katie yelps as Hunk stabs a fork through their hand, though they snatch away the bowls instantly. 

 

“Why the fuck did you stab me,” they yelp, viciously pulling out the fork with little to no reaction. 

 

Hunk stares, Lance, Allura, and Coran all silent as well. Then Hunk squeaks, “I didn’t mean to! Not  _ actually _ stab you! Are you okay?” 

 

Instead of replying, Katie shovels the last bit of food into their mouth, glaring despite the blood that trails down their fist, knuckles stained as well. “I’m going to fucking murder you if you stab me again,” they threaten. 

 

“I’m sorry!” 

 

“You’re bleeding,” Coran wails, undoubtedly heard across the entire castle with how loud he was. 

 

“I understand that I’m bleeding!” They respond with a glare. The alarms blare suddenly, all eyes turning towards the screen that illuminates the entire room. “What is that,” Katie asks at the small being running from rock to rock. 

 

“I don’t… Know,” Allura answers with a raised brow. “Maybe it’s just an Arusian?” 

  
  
  
  


“Greetings,” Coran chips up with a wide smile, looking over at the Arusian in the bushes. “We know you’re there. We’re here to welcome you, not harm you.” 

 

Instead of taking a soft approach, the Arusian holds out their blade. “Why is the Lion God angry with us? Is it your fault?” 

 

Katie holds their sword in front of the prince, glaring. “Back up,  _ buddy,” _ they speak softly, though their bark is much quieter than their force of a bite. Anyone in the castle that had been with them more than five minutes knew that. 

 

Coran pushes Katie’s blade away, not minding their glare. “What seems to be the issue? How do you know he’s mad?” 

 

“Fire has rained from the heavens for the past few suns,” they make small gestures, each telling of their own. And a giant has danced in the sky!” 

 

Lance leans over to Hunk. “I think they’re talking about Voltron,” he whisper-yells. 

 

Hunk rolls his eyes. “Yeah.” 

 

Coran smiles peacefully. “You have  _ not _ angered the Lion God.” 

 

“Are you sure? How can you tell?” 

 

“I’m Coran, Prince of Altea. And this,” he gestures to his right, “is my castle.” 

 

The Arusian gasps. “You’re the Lion God!” They’re suddenly on their knees instantly, praising. 

 

“Please, Bravest Warrior, lead us to your village,” Coran asks with yet another peaceful smile. “We would like to meet our neighbors, especially if they are all as amazing as you are.” Katie glares at that announcement. 

  
  
  
  


“So, how long have you guys been prisoners?” 

 

The tallest alien frowns, looking up at the Green paladin. He gruffly speaks, “Some of us have been here for years while others maybe even decades. None really know. Time is but a blur here, in this place.” 

 

Robin isn’t sure if he means the cosmos or the ship itself. “Were there ever any other Earthlings with you while you were there? At all?” 

 

“Two,” he speaks slowly, glancing at the Black Paladin. “They were with the Champion.” 

 

Matt frowns as he looks at the alien. “Champion? Why do you keep calling me that?” 

 

He looks surprised to hear that. “You truly don’t remember that? One of the humans, he was given to fight, just like you. I think you called him Takashi as you attacked him in cold blood, injuring him so he couldn’t fight. You were out for blood, ready to rule the arena.” 

 

Robin’s mood drops, heart plummeting down more and more. “You attacked Shiro,” Robin yells at Matt, glaring. “Why would you attack him?” 

 

“I-I don’t know,” Matt defends, confused. “Why would I attack him? He was one of my best friends, Curtis and Adam, too. I don’t…” 

 

“Don’t remember,” Robin finishes with clear snark. They turn back to the alien. “What happened to Shiro after that? Takashi.” 

 

“They took him away, probably to the mines. That’s where they take people that can’t fight.” 

 

Matt stares at the ground for a moment before popping up. “That ship, it crash-landed on the planet. It’ll have logs of prisoners on there.” He turns, ready to leave. 

 

Robin runs after him. “I’m coming with you.” 

  
  
  
  
  


“The giant robot is not here to kill us,” the leading Arusian asks, confused. 

 

“Voltron? N-No! Voltron is here to help!” Coran pushes at the air with his arms. “They’re here to protect you all!” 

 

The Arusians pressed forward with affection, all there to present their praise as the others had. Katie pushes away, not in the mood for the sudden touches. However, a body is thrown against their, strong arms wrapped around their waist and successfully holding on. Katie awkwardly pats their head before relaxing the tiniest bit. “I don’ usually, well, hug strangers, but, man, you  _ are _ cuddly.” 

 

“Thank you,” they respond, voice deep. Katie’s eyes widened, only then aware their voices could be deeper. 

  
  
  
  


Robin pushes the information from the ship to Matt’s arm, typing away on the displayed screen. “I’ll decode this back at the castle.” 

 

A loud noise makes Matt turn, looking up at the flaming ball of red. “What in the?...” He frowns, recognizing what it  _ may _ be. “Oh, no.” 

 

“What is it,” Robin asks, far too absorbed in their whereabouts than Matt’s focused concern. They hesitate at the keys, though. 

 

“Something just entered the atmosphere. I have no idea what it is.” 

 

Matt goes to move, only to have his hand slammed back down. “I’m only fifteen percent done. Just wait, we have time if it  _ just _ entered.” 

 

It’s roughly seventy-three percent done before Matt apologizes and pulls Robin away, ignoring their protests. “Team, come in.”

 

_ “Matt,” _ Coran’s voice asks. 

 

_ “What’s going on,” _ Katie asks second, leaning up. Their voice is much fainter. 

 

_ “What’s going on?” _

 

They don’t need to be told, not as the ground shakes. Red lights up the sky. 

 

“Oh, no,” Katie whispers, substituting one word for another. “We gotta get to our Lions!” 

 

Coran leads the Arusians to their homes. “Everyone stay inside and lay low.” 

 

“On it,” Lance bellows, running past the Prince, whose eyes widen in confusion. 

 

He’s even more confused when he sees Katie dragging the Yellow Paladin back, holding onto the equivalent of a lion’s scruff on his suit. “Not you.” 

  
  
  


“Matt, let me go,” Robin fights back, only pausing when Matt yells _ run, _ both stuttering on the image of the machine whirling into place, where they had  _ just been. _ They’re just barely saved from the whiplash of the crash by their lions, Black and Green encasing the two from the danger. Let all Gods bless their bonds to their lions, both knowing they’d use it more than once. 

 

The Black Lion stands over the Green one, shielding her despite her own need to take cover. Maybe it was the Lion’s parental instincts or Matt’s, but it still took over, protecting the two paladins on the ground. They stand as the dust clears, proud and mighty in all their glory. 

 

“They saved us,” Robin muses, amazed. 

 

“I didn’t know they could do that,” Matt agrees. 

 

Their conversation is interrupted by Robin pointing behind them. “Um, Matt, that looks like a rather big issue.” 

 

The two take agreement on that statement as they pile into their lions, the encasing opening quickly. They just barely have time to shield themselves, beams firing at the purple blob thrown at them. It hits the Green Lion, still, throwing her and her paladin to the ground, harsh. Robin groans into the comms. As the beast runs towards the Green lion, the Black on tackles the beast, biting at the cords on it’s back and neck until roughly getting pulled off in time. 

 

_ “Lay down some covering fire so they can get back up and get out of here,” _ Katie yells into the comms, voice not giving any room to fight back, especially with it being the best plan of action, anyway. A large beam of blue follows their demand. 

 

_ “On it,” _ Hunk reports, an attack firing from the Lion’s tail. 

 

_ “Check this out,” _ Lance squeals happily, _ “Battle Lion Headbutt,” _ he yells before throwing Yellow against the back of the beast. It falls with a loud thump. 

 

_ “You guys okay down there,” _ Katie asks, still gruff. 

 

_ “Still alive," _   Matt answers back.  _ “I think the Galra sent this.” _

 

_ “It screams purple,  _ who else _ could it be, Matt,” _ Katie snarks back.  _ “Last I checked, we didn’t have any other enemies.” _

 

_ “Shut it, Furry, we need to form Voltron.” _

 

_ “Who are you calling a furry,” _ Katies yells, _ “Why are you calling me a furry? Where did you even-” _

 

_ “It’s a joke, but it clearly pisses you off, so-”  _

 

Their nagging turned into teasing as Voltron formed. 

 

_ “I’m not a furry,” _ Katie declares to the team, thanking Voltron so they didn’t have to speak it aloud, just think it for it to be out there. 

 

The two take their mental swings at each other, though Katie breaks it to yell, throwing gears forward. With one arm being held, it gave Robin the chance to throw forward a left arm hook, striking the beast directly in the face. Their attacks were aggressive, the two syncing up. The team had no other choice but to follow, not that they weren’t already lax on doing so. 

 

They only paused when the purple orb crashed against them, Matt groaning as he took most of the force. They just barely stutter out of the way to leave it’s course back on them. 

 

_ “I thought Voltron was the most powerful weapon in the universe,” _ Katie yells, tension filling their words. 

 

_ “Yeah,” _ Lance agrees, _ “So how is this thing kicking our butts?”  _

 

Voltron stands, turning away from the orb for a millisecond. That turn is enough for them to be slammed to the ground, the beast practically bodyslamming them. 

 

_ “The village,” _ Lance suddenly reminds them, _ “We have to protect the Arusians! We promised!”  _

 

Voltron does lead them away, forcing the words from the oldest teenager, _ “We can’t defeat it, not now.” _

 

_ “I’m gonna kick the orb, then,” _ Hunk declares.

 

_ “No, no, no. Last time you kicked something, we fell!”  _

 

_ “Stop living in the past, Red!”  _ Hunk yells back to the youngest.  _ “Oh, no!” _

 

_ “How do you miss a giant orb, Hunk?!”  _

 

_ “Robin, fire the lasers now,” _ Matt orders, Robin giving their reply as they steadied out. Before the beams could be received to their full power, they were hit once more, then again by the orb. 

 

_ “If we focus on the orb, the monster hits us! But if we focus on the monster, the orb hits us!”  _

 

Hunk seems just as stressed as he calls, _ “Then what do you suggest, Lance?” _

 

They take another hit, Voltron seizing at it’s thrown. Katie’s scanners zoom in, taking in the looks instantly.  _ “Matt, we have to move!” _ There’s a pause. _ “Matt? Matt, are you there?”  _ More and more worry seeps into their words, panicking. That made the others nervous, seeing the one who relied on instincts in a panic.

 

_ “I think I know how to defeat it.” _

 

_ “Don’t go on silence like that for so long,” _ Katie complains, voice rough while the others tell him to  _ spill. _

 

_ ”I’ve faced this thing before when I was in the Arena!” _   The team doesn’t have time to ask questions as he dodges, recognizing the movements instantly. _ “Listen, there’s a loud sound when the orb gets near! Every third time it’s fired, it has to charge up. That’s it’s weakest point when we have to attack!”  _

 

_ “What do we do until then,” _ Lance asks.

 

_ “Decoy and defense!”  _  Three hits later, they hear Matt yell, _ “Now!” _

 

Katie pushes their controls forward, determination clear on their face. Despite its' takedown-

 

_ “Orb,” _ Lance yells, panicked.

 

Robin reports, _ “We can’t take another shot like that!” _

 

Katie pauses as they push themselves up, regaining their barrings. Their skin seems to vibrate, like a cold chill runs over them as their controls change, flashing with lines similar to ones inside of a network instead of any actual controls. They pause, watching a spot rise from the dashboard, fit perfectly to their fist and Bayard.  _ “Wait a second, guys. I think my Lion’s telling me what to do.”  _

 

_ “Then do it, Red!”  _

 

Katie gets thrown as the beast strikes once again, groaning as they forced themselves to stand. They slam the Bayard in, careful not to actually damage anything as they do so. Right before they all met their demise, the sword greeted the metal, shining in the light as Voltron landed elegantly on their feet. As cheers erupted, Katie sat silently, eyes forward and mouth slack-jawed. 

 

_ “How did you do that,” _ Lance asked happily, sounding excited once more. 

 

They pulled out the Bayard, humming softly.  _ “Thanks, Red,” _ they whisper softly, petting the main controls, not ready to answer. 

 

-

 

“We can’t thank you enough for your hospitality,” the tallest alien thanked the team, his voice much smoother than it had been previously. 

 

“Good luck out there,” Hunk provides with a knowing smile.

 

Unbeknownst to the others, the Green Paladin sat silently on the bridge, Black taking a seat beside them. 

 

“I can’t believe you attacked my brother,” Robin whispered. 

 

“I did it to save him.” 

 

“What?” 

 

Matt sat a somber look, almost wistful. “When we were fighting, I got my memories back, a couple of them about that fight, the first time I did it. I attacked Shiro because he wouldn’t make it out, Robin. He was supposed to fight first. He was scared and panicking. I mean, we all were, but…” 

 

“You saved him… You attacked him so they would choose you instead.” 

 

As tears brew in their eyes, Matt least expected a hug. In fact, he kind of expected a punch in the throat for not telling the younger earlier. 

 

“I have a couple of questions, though, Robin.” 

 

“Hm?” 

 

“Is… Is Keith a dead name? I don’t want to dead name you, that’s just wrong.” 

 

Robin suddenly pulls back, more tears brimming in their eyes. They sniffle. “Actually, _ Robin _ is my dead name, but… After Shiro changed it and everything, I needed another name to get into the Garrison. I got kicked out, so..” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sick as a dog. in the past three days, I have written a chapter, made two edits and a drawing, sketched a couple things, felt like shit and slept on and off for 14 hours, had an allergy attack, vented some stuff to a friend, overshared to that so said friend, and regretted that conversation. lowkey still do, but yeet I guess


	5. Chapter 5

“We should have a team cheer,” Lance decides after Coran finishes his speech, gifting a communicator to the Arusians. “You know, like how they do on TV!” 

 

Katie skeptically looks back and forth between Lance and Hunk, watching the Blue Paladin agree. “Yeah, okay,” he mumbles. He presses a thumb to his chin before getting into full swing of this. “How ‘bout, uh, I say Vol, you say Tron! Vol!” 

 

Katie frowns as the two look at the youngest expectantly. “Uhh… Vol… Tron?...” 

 

Lance raises an eyebrow, Hunk doing the same. “No, no, no, no. The chant includes the instructions. I say  _ Vol _ and you say-” 

 

Katie leans forward as he looks at them expectantly, confused. “Vol-Tron?” 

 

He groans as Lance facepalms. “We’ll work on it,” Hunk mumbles. Katie turns to Lance with a raised brow, only to turn back to the oldest when he takes a sit, looking more like he’s in pain than anything as he forces it down. “Allura, what  _ is _ this,” he asks the general as he steps over. 

 

“Nunvil,” she answers without hesitance. “It’s the nectar of the Gods.” 

 

“It tastes like hotdog water and feet.” 

 

“Yes. It does make a wonderful hair tonic, as well,” she agrees. Hunk suddenly takes into consideration the barrier they hold with both cultures and species. 

 

Lance and Katie inspect the Blue Paladin as the general walks away, frowning. They circle around the nauseously dead looking paladin before Katie gingerly presses his shoulder, nothing more than a slight poke. However, he topples over instantly. 

 

Allura offers a caring smile to Matt. “Do you want some Nunvil, Matt? It’ll brighten your spirits!” 

 

Matt only frowns, skeptically looking at the door of the castle. “I don’t like having the castle so open like this, Allura. It doesn’t seem that safe.” 

 

The younger’s smile drops as she hums. “Truthfully, Matt, neither do I. But look around.” She gestures around her, to which Matt does. Katie stands over Hunk, each foot planted on one side of his hip as they tentatively poke him. Lance lets out fits of laughter at that while Robin chats with a couple of Arusians, Coran standing atop the stairs and doing the same with a wide, blaring smile. “Everyone seems so happy, especially Coran. Let’s just… let him live with this for now, alright? Live in the moment while we still have it.” 

 

Matt hums for a moment. “I’m gonna go get some air, okay?” Allura nods slowly. 

  
  


The space mice tread up Coran’s sides, chirping out words. “Look at them, will you? Humans. They’re so amazing.” 

 

They peer at Katie and Lance, watching Katie gulp down a full cup of Nunvil before spitting it out suddenly. It spewed over Lance, the other turning frantically to avoid it. The older holds to pops to his eyes, yelling out, _ “Ah, my eyes!” _ That rips a laugh from the uptight Red Paladin, Lance and a group of Arusians doing the same. 

 

“Maybe not the  _ most _ amazing,” he inquires with a raised brow, skeptical. The mice, however, seem to have some news to share about the second shortest paladin. “Robin is a  _ what?” _ They glance at the Green Paladin, who stands with the etiquette of any young lady. “Are you  _ sure _ she’s a boy?” 

  
  


Hunk swirls the stuff around in his cup. “Who knows when we’ll get back to Earth. Maybe we  _ should _ just get used to this stuff?” 

 

Lance frowns. “Yeah… If ever.” 

 

“What’d you mean?” Hunk looks up at Lance with pitiful eyes. 

 

“I mean, what if Honerva or Haggar or whatever her name is taking a while to put down? Or she has back up? She’s been ruling for ten _ thousand _ years, after all. It’ll probably take a while to do all that and fix it if we make it.” 

 

“Oh…” Hunk looks down at his cup, frowning. “Right…” 

 

“Hey, do you think we’ll ever land on a food planet?” 

 

Hunk smiles. “Well, there’s only one place that has beaches and the perfect places to eat… And my Mom…” Hunks ducks his head, smile falling as he fights back tears. “Sorry, all this Nunvil must be getting to me. I gotta go.” Lance looks like he wants to speak, but stops, shutting his mouth and watching his friend go. 

 

Katie turns as he passes Allura, frowning. “Is Hunk okay,” they ask the older with a frown. 

 

Coran, however, seemed to be on a hunt as he cornered Robin. “Hey.” 

 

“Hey,” the other more asks than replies. 

 

“We haven’t really had a chance to talk. Tell me a little bit about yourself,” he hints 

 

Robin seems a tad confused, slowly thinking out what that all means before smiling. “Well, I like wolves, I guess. And huskies. I have a mix at home. And I kind of sweat a lot? Unrelated to animals. I mean.” 

 

Now it’s Coran’s turn to be confused. “I was thinking a little more… Personal.” He winks, smiling. “We have a  _ lot _ in common.” 

 

“Like what?” Robin seems deflated. 

 

“Well… Hm, we both had a family member taken away by Haggar. I mean, you’ll see yours again, but it’s still taken.” Robin cringes, the other backpedaling instantly. “What I mean is that you can confide in me, Robin. If there’s  _ ever anything _ you want to talk about,” he hints again. 

 

“Well… I have something to tell you.” 

 

“I had a feeling! What is it?” 

 

“I’m leaving Team Voltron.” 

 

Coran brightens before deflating instantly. “Wait,  _ what? _ You’re…” 

 

“I decrypted all the information from the ship. I may not know where they currently are, but it’ll give me hints to where they  _ were. _ I’m leaving tonight.” 

 

“Robin, you can’t! You have a secret bond with the Lions! They won’t choose another paladin unless you’re dead or the others give up rights to their Lions as well! There are a lot of strings attached to this!” 

 

Robin glares. “My first priority is to find my family! I’m sure Green can find herself a new paladin if I refuse to enter! She’ll find someone better!” 

 

With that, the paladin begins their stomp away, leaving a worried prince in their wake. 

  
  
  
  


“You miss Earth,” Allura whispers, looking over at the Blue Paladin. “I understand… That is to be expected, after all. I miss Altea, but… My planet was destroyed. Yours wasn’t. It won’t be.” 

 

Hunk frowns. “I know we’re supposed to be brave and all that… But I just want to go home. Things were simpler then.” 

 

“I would go back to Altea if I could…” 

 

“I miss puddles. And rain…” 

 

“Rain?” 

 

“It’s water. It falls from the sky.” 

 

“Oh, we had that on Altea! Except it wasn’t water, more like rocks. As sharp as a blade and as hot as magma! Oh, they could knock a hole in someone.” 

 

“Sounds fun?...” 

 

“Oh, it was.” 

  
  
  
  


“Robin, no,” Matt frowns. 

 

“I’ve got all the data and a pod ready to leave.” 

 

“You can’t leave,” Katie glares, standing against the other’s taller form. Despite their height difference, the younger wasn’t phased. “If you leave, we  _ can’t _ form Voltron. That means Haggar will win. You’re not the only one with a family here.” 

 

“I-I mean, I have a family, too,” Lance butts in, frowning at the pissing contest going on between the two. “I want to see them, too. Is-Is that a thing that we, uh, we can do?” 

 

“You’re leaving, too?” 

 

“I mean, don’t get me wrong, Coran, I love Voltron and it’s super cool, but I didn’t sign up for all this fighting and possible death.” 

 

Katie presses forward, eyes brightly lit with something that seemed either hurt or angered, though the others couldn’t register it. “You’re putting the lives of two people over the lives of everyone in the entire-” 

 

_ “Katie,” _ Matt speaks softly, hand pressing to the other’s chest. A new pain flashes in their eyes, though it’s quickly masked with anger. “That’s not how a team works.” Katie glares at the wall, roughly a small patch behind Robin so they can avoid their eyes, unsure of the older’s reaction to all of this. It shifts to a piece of Matt’s armor as the older moves in front of them. “If you leave, we won’t try to stop you… But please think about what all of this means?” 

 

There’s a beat of silence before the teenager speaks, “Sorry… but you’ll need to find another paladin.” 

  
  
  


“Hey, Rover,” Hunk greets the bot, hand held up. The robot doesn’t bump it, making the human frown. The machine always bumped his hand when he greeted it? That’s how Robin programmed it. He pauses, turning to look at the bot. “Wait… Where’s Robin?” 

 

The sound of beeping makes him gasp. “Allura, look out,” he yells, tackling the other and shielding her instinctively. 

  
  


Lance tentatively picks up Allura, letting her lean against him while Matt runs to inspect Hunk, worry filling them all. “Hunk? Hey, Hunk!” 

 

“We have to get Hunk to the infirmary,” Robins voices, worried. 

 

“Without the crystal, the castle is basically dead,” Coran worries aloud. 

 

Matt takes another look at the paladin, frowning. “He doesn’t look so good…” 

 

The Arusian leader runs up, concern and fear clear on his face. “Please, paladins, our village is under attack!” 

 

“Let’s get to our lions, then,” Katie suggests, frowning. 

 

“They’re locked in their hangars. We’re defenseless.” Coran bites his lip, beginning to worry at the flesh. 

 

“Can you not help us? 

 

“No, we’ll help you,” Katie declares instantly, no hesitation in their voice. 

 

Allura is quick to rash over what needs to happen, that they need to get a new crystal from a Balmera, though declaring she’ll need Lance since he’s probably going to be the best at emotional support for all of this. Robin volunteers their ship for transport since it’s already ready to leave. Katie and Coran leave to tend to the village while Matt agreed to stay with Hunk and monitor what he could from the castle. 

  
  
  


Matt glares at Lahn, watching the general press robotic arm to robotic arm, the two at a draw there. However, the sudden face of another general earns the adult’s attention. At the words _ Let him go, _ Matt feels himself get thrown, head harshly hitting the wall. That was  _ definitely _ going to leave a mark. 

 

Robin can’t do much more than watch all of it happen.  _ “Oh, no,”  _  they whisper. 

  
  
  


“Stay here with them!” 

 

“Katie,” Coran protests, watching the paladin throw themselves into the flames. They sneak from building to building looking at the drones silently. 

 

The flames lick at their skin, though they examine the drones for a moment before watching them fall to the ground. Their eyes widen.  _ “Oh, no,” _ they whisper. 

 

There’s a sudden glare.  _ “They tricked us. Coran, this is all a diversion to thin the castles’ defenses and get us out.” _ Coran sharply turns towards the castle, watching it glow to life before the door slams shut. That doesn’t stop them from attempting to run there, though. 

 

Katie slams into the particle barrier, fist harshly punching it. “No! No, no no! I should have seen this coming!” 

 

Coran panics more than the younger. “They have the castle! They’re taking Voltron!” 

 

“Can we break through the barrier?” 

 

“No! And whoever has taken the castle must have had their own crystal! This could infect the whole castle with dark magic! We have to stop this!” 

 

“And  _ how _ are we gonna do that, Prince? We can’t exactly get in from here.” 

 

There’s a sudden, _ “Katie, Katie, can you hear me?” _

 

“Robin! Where are you?” 

 

_ “I’m inside the castle. Lahn has taken control. Matt and Hunk are both passed out, now. He’s preparing for launch, though.” _

 

“Robin, listen,” Coran spoke, stealing his voice, “if they’ve already started, we don’t have much time left. You have to go to the main engine control and disconnect the primary turbine from the central energy chamber If you that, he’ll have to reset everything. It’ll give us maybe enough time.” 

  
  
  


If this trip had any teachings to it, the only thing Lance would gather was  _ Allura is a thrill-seeker just as much as Katie. _ Especially as the two gun it from a fighter ship, taking a rough tumble down to the ground. Two glowing eyes stare at the fallen ship, anxiety taking over Lance as he frantically questions, “Allura, Allura, what lives down here? At the bottom of the mines?” 

  
  


“I think they started the process, Coran. What now?” 

 

_ “Cross the catwalk to the main port in the center. THat’s the control panel.” _

 

Robin was sure to follow step by step, near silent as they followed. 

 

_ “Remove the panel on the bottom and find the central computer board and enter the following sequence.” _

 

“Wait, wait, wait, wait, which one is it? All the labels are in Altean!” They paused, feeling the ground shake. “I can’t tell which one it is… Coran?!” 

 

Robin frowned, watching their Bayard form. “I hope they have home insurance,” they mumbled as they thrust they electric weapon forward. Despite getting thrown back, it  _ seemed _ to work properly. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lowkey still stirring in regret y'all

**Author's Note:**

> Tumblr: GalehkXigisi or Transheman
> 
> Instagram: Todorokishootme or Assbutt666
> 
> Discord: Shooketh Whomst#2679
> 
> Twitter (SFW): DavenderLav
> 
> Twitter (NSFW): DaveyWinchester
> 
> Voltron Amino: 💀👽Dab👽💀


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